THE MAIN FUNCTIONS
OF THE POLICE ARE PREVENTION AND DETECTION of crime and
the maintenance of law and order. Besides these, they
have to apprehend offenders, escort prisoners and
treasure, prosecute criminals and control and regulate
traffic.
In the year 1904, the then Thane
district had fourteen stations and forty-four out-posts.
In 1911, however, the strength of police stations was
reduced to five. The position was again changed in 1921
when the number of police stations was raised to
twenty-four and that of out-posts to thirty-five.

Year

Number of Police
stations

Out-posts

1946

..

21

31

1951

..

28

37

1956

..

31

36

1961

..

27

33

1966

..

Not available

1971

..

38

39

1976

..

38

42

The following statement shows the
position for some years beginning with 1946
:

The Thana District Gazetteer
published in 1882 gives the police strength of Thane
district in 1880 as 842. This figure included one
District Superintendent, two subordinate officers, 150
inferior officers and 689 foot constables. The
distribution of police . personnel in the district in
the years 1903, 1911 and 1912 is shown in table No. 1. Table
No. 2 shows police strength in Thane district for a
few years since 1960.

Table 1

Priculars

Year

Inspectors

Sergeants

Sub-
Inspectors

Chief Constables

Head
Constables

Constables

Total

Guards

Officers

Men

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

At fourteen police stations

1903 ..

2

..

..

11

36

112

161

..

..

1911* ..

1

1

9

..

24

166

201

1

3

1921* ..

..

24

..

193

364

581

At forty-four out-posts

1903 ..

..

..

..

..

39

136

178

..

..

1911* ..

..

..

..

..

39

143

182

..

..

1921* ..

..

..

..

..

77

55

132

..

At district headquarters

1903 ..

..

..

..

..

15

61

76

4

11

1911 ..

1

..

3

..

12

52

68

..

1921 ..

2

..

3

..

30

131

166

..

..

At taluka headquarters

1903 ..

..

..

..

..

46

190

236

21

83

1911 ..

4

..

4

..

63

209

290

..

..

1921 ..

4

1

2

..

..

..

7

..

Reserve .. ..

1903 ..

..

..

..

1

16

108

125

..

..

1911 ..

..

1

..

12

150

163

..

..

1921 ..

..

..

3

..

..

130

133

..

Total .. .. ..

1903 ..

2

..

..

2

152

610

776

25

94

1911 ..

6

1

27

..

150

720

904

1

3

1921 ..

6

1

32

..

300

680

1.019

..

..

TABLE No. 2STRENGTH OF POLICE
FORCE, THANE DISTRICT

Particulars

1960

1966

1970

1974

1

2

3

4

5

SuperinteiAdents

2

2

2

3

Assistant Superintendent

1

1

1

Deputy Superintendents ..

2

3

2

5

Inspectors . .

8

9

10

26

Sub-Inspectors .

66

52

51

136

Jarnadars ..

.. ..

20

22

53

Head Constables. .

499

371

425

952

Constables ...

.. 1,810

1,462

1,739

3,304

Total .

2,388

1,919

2,252

4,480

In the year 1946
Thane district was included in the northern range of the
Bombay State while it was listed in the C.I.D. Range in
1951. From 1957 onwards it was included in the Bombay
range of police.The proportion of police to area and
population of the district for a few years has been
given below :

Year

Proportion of police
to

Area

Population

1946

..

2.32 square miles

671

1951

..

2.52 square miles

976

1956

..

1.40 square miles

653

1961

..

1.56 square miles

703

1966

..

3.05 square kilometres

549

1974

..

2.3 square kilometres

547

The Bombay Village
Police Act of 1867 places much responsibility upon the
Police Patil. He has to ensure protection against
robbery. breach of peace and acts injurious to village
community. He keeps the Taluka Magistrate constantly
informed about the state of crime in the area under his
charge. He has to execute all orders and warrants issued
to him by an Executive Magistrate or a police officer
and has to forward information of crime to the nearest
police station.

A number of
factors, which are beyond the scope of this study, have
given rise to the law and order problems in Thane
district, as in other areas of the State. This has
necessitated the increase in the police force during the
last about twenty-five years.

The
Police administration in the Thane District has, of
late, become unwieldy. The problems facing the police,
particularly in the towns of Thane, Bhiwandi, Dombivli,
Kalyan, Ulhasnagar and Ambarnath and in the areas in
their vicinity, are on the increase, both in magnitude
and complexity, due to rapid industrialization, which in
its wake has brought about phenomenal increase in
population and crime. A close scrutiny of all these
problems has revealed that the conditions prevailing in
and around these towns are distinctly different from
those obtaining in the rural areas and call for a change
in the pattern of policing in the main urban areas in
the Thane District for the purpose of ensuring effective
policing. Government is accordingly pleased to direct
that the police administration in the aforesaid urban
areas of the Thane District should be placed in charge
of a Commissioner of police and accordingly sanctions
the establishment of a police Commissionerate for the
aforesaid urban areas of the Thane District, the
residual areas in the Thane District being included in
the Thane Rural Police District.

2.

For this purpose, the
following notifications should be published in the
Maharashtra Government Gazette 

( i ) A notification under
the section 7( a ) of the Bombay police Act, 1951 ( Bom.
XXII of 1951 ), appointing the Commissioner of police
for the aforesaid urban areas.

( ii ) A notification under
clause ( s ) of section 2 of the Code of criminal
procedure, 1973 ( 2 of 1974 ), defining the areas under
the furisdiction of the police stations forming part of
the Thane Commissionerate;

( iii ) A notification under
clause ( s ) of section 2 of the Code of criminal
procedure, 1973 ( 2 of 1974 ), transferring 18 villages
from the areas under the jurisdiction of the Bhiwandi
Taluka Police Station to the areas under the
jurisdictions of the Bhoiwada and Bhiwandi Town Police
Stations ; and

( iv ) A notification under
section 21 of the Code of criminal Procedure, 1973 ( 2
of 1974 ), appointing the Commissioners of police,
Deputy Commissioners of police, and Assistant
Commissioners of Police as Special Executive Magistrates
for exercising powers under section 107, 108, 109 and
110 of the said Code.

3.

After taking into account
the number of posts sanctioned for the existing Thane
District, Government is pleased to accord sanction to
the 

( I ) creation, on the usual
scales of pay and allowances, of the posts for the Thane
Police Commissionerate and the Thane Rural Police
District, for the period ending the 28th Annexure  A ,

( II ) redesignation of ( i
) the existing posts of Superintendent of Police, Thane
and three posts of Additional Superintendent of Police ,
Thane as Deputy Commissioners of Police and ( ii ) the
existing six posts of Deputy Superintendents of police
as Asssistant Commissioners of police;

( III ) incurring of
non-recurring expenditure ( i ) towards the purchase of
vehicles, wireless sets, typewriters, furniture and
other dead stock articles, etc. after following the
usual procedure and ( ii ) for the installation of
telephones, at a total cost not exceeding Rs.
32,88,000/- ( Rupees thirty two lakhs and eighty  eight
thousand only ) , as indicated in Annxure  B  ; and

( IV ) incurring of
expenditure not exceeding Rs. 2,69,000/- ( Rupees two
lakhs and sixtynine-thousand only ) ( recurring )
towards the rent of telephones and maintenance of
vehicles and wireless sets, etc., during the current
financial year 1981-82.

4.

Sanction
is also accorded to the formation of three Sub-Divisions
in the Thane Rural Police District, as indicated in
Annexure  C .

5.

Government is pleased to direct that the set up of Thane
Police Commissionerate and the Thane Rural Police
District should, with effect from the 1st May 1981, be
as indicated in Annexure  D .

6.

The
District Magistrate, Thane, should make immediate
arrangements for carrying out the work of copying the
relevant records of permanent nature in his office with
due expedition and for supplying copies there of to the
Commissioner of police, Thane . He should also transfer
to the office of the Commissioner of police, such of the
records of non-permanent nature in his office as is
required to be transferred to that office due to
transfer of functions.

7.

The
expenditure involved should be debited to the budget
head 255, police (K) ( i ) District Police Force  and
met from the grants sanctioned there under in the Budget
Estimates 1981-82, by way of a Section I New Item.

8.

This
Resolution issues with the concurrence of the Finance
Department Vide its un-official reference No. CR.
3309/EXP-3, dated the 5th December 1980.